Having an awesome daily routine for your family can work miracles on sleep habits, turn poor behavior upside-down and a more positive home where children (and parents) thrive! Learn how to create a great routine that works for your family and be sure to download the printable sample schedules for baby through preschool aged children.
The Benefits of a Great Daily Routine for Baby, Toddler and Older Kids
For any parent, whether you’re a Stay at Home Mom or working parent, the days with children can be long and tiring. But, if you create a routine for your children, you’ll quickly reap the rewards and find that there is an easier way than just “winging it.”
Create a routine that works for your children, and your entire family!
A great schedule requires structure, consistency, and patience to find the right routine that works for each stage of your children’s lives. Once you establish a daily routine, you’ll see huge improvements in all aspects of your life with little children and especially in moods and sleep.
The benefits of having a daily routine are enormous! Consistently eating and sleeping at the same time each day will help to limit meltdowns and poor behavior. Both of which are primarily triggered by hunger, being tired and overstimulated. A solid schedule promotes better sleep habits – and bedtimes without the battles – something we all could do with less of.
Getting into a routine that works for you and your children takes patience and time.
Raising kids isn’t easy and creating a routine requires (a whole lot of ) patience.
When you begin to create a routine, stick with it for a few days to see if the timing is working well with your child’s moods, eating and sleeping habits. Once you see how they’re responding, adjust the wake-up, nap and bedtimes as needed based on your unique family’s lifestyle.
Download Your Routine Tracker – The Starting Place for Creating a Better Routine and Great Sleep Habits
Sample Schedules for Kids
Below are sample schedules, which are a starting point for creating your own routine. These sample schedules may be perfect or it might require slight shifting for nap time 30 minutes earlier or later, lunch at noon instead of 11:30am, etc.
If you struggle with bedtimes, here are some suggestions to create a peaceful bedtime routine or helping your light sleeper become a better sleeper.
The most important thing is to be alert to your children’s moods and reactions to gauge how they’re responding to the schedule. Adjust as you need and try again until its right.
Finding the right routine may take a week of trying to shift until it’s just right, but will of course change again and again as your children grow, need less sleep, and can stay awake for longer periods of time.
BONUS: Download Your Sample Toddler Routine (Ages 2-3)
Helpful Resources for Mastering Your Routine, Handling Sleep Regressions & Overcoming Sleep Problems
For a more thorough explanation and resource of keeping a routine, Check out the Master Routines & Schedules Ebook which is 70-pages of jam-packed information and 40+ sample routines. All the tools, sample schedules, sleep tracker and strategies for every age and stage of development for 2 weeks to 5-years-old. Learn how to start the process of creating a routine, establishing wake up and bedtimes, strategies for working through nap transitions, prepping for daylight savings time to keep your routine on track and logging your baby’s sleep patterns to rocking a solid schedule through every age of growth.
Surviving Your Child’s Sleep Regressions Ebook
not only gives you an detailed reasoning behind sleep at every age, but also strategies to help you through the 18 month sleep regression and 2 year old sleep regression. You’ll know how to spot a sleep regression coming on, and be equipped with strategies to help you understand the root cause and developmental leaps behind your baby’s sleep struggle.
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Creating a routine is crazy important! Toddlers need to feel safe and in control and this helps a lot! Looks like you’ve got your schedule down, thanks for sharing and linking up for some #mommatime!
When our twins were younger, I don’t know what I would have done without a routine. It was a constant life (and sanity) saver!
Great tips! I just had a change to my own schedule so our routine changed somewhat and you can really see it on the kiddos. Thanks for sharing!
With my kids, I’ve found that it takes 3-5 days to adjust to a new routine or get back on a routine when we’re off. I notice it right away when we’re off – they’re more tired or whiney. Hope you’re back on track soon, I feel you mama
Routine was everything for all 4 of my kids growing up so I can attest to your thoughts here! It really does work for everyone’s sake lol to have a routine for our little ones. And once they are in it, it becomes that much harder to disrupt it for unexpected things.
Totally agree, Routine is the one thing that makes our lives function and keeps everyone happy! I always know when we’re off and have to get back on track stat
Your sample routine schedule looks similar to mine. 🙂 It’s very important to have routines especially that as a Stay at home mom with a 2 1/2 year old and an 8 month old adventurous boys sticking to a schedule makes the day go smoothly as all of us know what to expect. This way we are all prepared and not stressed out.
I totally agree, our days are so much more enjoyable when we’re on schedule and can anticipate what’s next. I don’t know people live without a schedule! 🙂
I love the schedule but what would you suggest to do when kids wake up early. Both my boys are early risers. They are up by 530 everyday. Do I wake up at 5?
Hi Caitlin. You do have some earlier risers. Sometimes waking up earlier than your kids isn’t always reasonable. I totally get that and I don’t know that I’d want to be up at 5am either. I would say to take advantage of your nights when your kids are asleep, make sure you are doing some things for you and are all set for the next day. Then in the mornings, is there a way to take just a couple minutes for yourself before you go in and get the kids? Even if it’s just 5 minutes to brew coffee and taking a drink or laying in bed and waking up on your own… something that helps you get going by yourself.